Ardagh Buys Saint-Gobain Unit for $1.7 Billion

By

Inti Landauro and

Mimosa Spencer

Jan. 14, 2013 1:21 p.m. ET

PARIS—Glass and metal packaging company Ardagh Group said Monday it was buying the U.S. glass bottle operations of France's Compagnie de Saint-Gobain for $1.7 billion, in a deal that will make it the biggest company in the sector in the U.S.

The acquisition caps a three-year North American buying spree by Ardagh, which entered the U.S. in 2010 after buying French can manufacturing business Impress Group. With the latest deal, Luxembourg-based Ardagh, which makes Absolut Vodka bottles, will overtake the largest glass...